


The Fate Of The Stars

by BuddyBuddyPalBuddy



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fantasy AU, Friends to Lovers, Learning to be Human, M/M, Magic, More to come Hopefully, Promdyn, Prompto is ardyn’s patron, warlock au, warlock nonsense to lovers, yeehaw this is decent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-24 03:52:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18563356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BuddyBuddyPalBuddy/pseuds/BuddyBuddyPalBuddy
Summary: Some things are never meant to change, but when they do, one must change to meet that.Ardyn is a warlock who made a pact with Prompto for power.The rest is yet to come.Title from the song Fate Of The Stars by Tally Hall





	The Fate Of The Stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HigharollaKockamamie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HigharollaKockamamie/gifts).



Ardyn could tell the passage time by the tower stairs alone. His footsteps had made an impression over the years, every one of the stone stairs worn and indented in the shape of his boots. Plants that were once tiny sprigs in between the cracks now grew proud and strong. Ardyn was careful to avoid them every night, and they flourished. Maybe his magic had to do with it, or his Patron was keeping them alive. Regardless, they thrived.

The tower was so much different from when he first climbed it those many years ago. Then, it stood proud and unbroken, untouched by the green that consumes it now. His foot fits snugly into the worn stairs, beginning the night, staring down at his boots. Each step is drawn out, careful, fitting right where the dull outline was. Careful of the plants growing in the cracks. The ache in his knees was another way to tell time.

Ever since he was a boy he had visited the tower every single night. Snuck out of bed and scrounged through the forest, crawling through the bramble-covered hole in the wall, just to get inside. It might’ve been an abandoned castle, or church, but to him, it was a sanctuary. At first, it was for the windows. Broken stain glass, the iron frame like a picked over skeleton. What remained was vague images and outlines. As a boy he and Somnus would go there every night, until Somnus learned of this dreadful thing called “growing up” and refused to come with him.

Then, when he was a teen, and Somnus had decided to leave him, he spent most of his life in the tower. Nights were spent with fireflies that drift aimlessly through the hot nights, the little violets and dandelions and lillies that grow bright and colorful, perfuming the night air. Simply enchanting. It had taken him a while to find the courage to go up the stairs, even after he outgrew those childhood fears of his. Then he did, and made a deal. Now the tower was a home away from home, and he had a friend again.

At the very top, the stairs suddenly came to an end, leaving him alone in the open sky. The tree canopies below shift in the warm, sweet breeze, like a great ocean. Above, Stars. Millions, trillions of bright stars. Smiling, he takes off his hat, dropping it by his boots, looking at the empty places of the cosmos. He raises his hands up like a conductor, welcoming.

“Hello! It’s me again!”

Ardyn lowers his arms, patiently waiting.

Stars above him shift. Little specks of void start to tear against the night sky, until they’re open wide and empty. His lungs are knocked windless from the sight alone. This part would never change. The whole world seems to hush down and dull.

The night opens its eyes. Sharp wind howls against his ears, blowing his hair back and neatly throwing him off balance. There, in the endless heavens, two orange eyes stare him down with an unwavering gaze; blinking, and going warm when he recognizes him.

Prompto’s form manifests slowly, dust coalescing into a huge nebula of streaking blues and purples, an aurora across the sky. A body forms and then a chest and then, Ardyn is looking up into the eyes of his patron.

Ardyn bends and picks up his hat, saying; “Good evening.”

 _“Good evening, my little weasel!”_ Prompto’s voice rings inside his head, “ _I’m happy to see you, as always.”_

“Happy to see you too. I did what you suggested-“

 _“Oh?”_  

“-Yes, yes. I made a little lump of mossy mud walk around. I gave it a kitchen knife and let it wander on its merry way. I think it spent an hour stabbing a wall over and over again. There’s nothing I need worry about, it wasn’t my wall.”

Stars streak across the sky as Prompto’s laugh rings out in his mind. The heavenly face scrunches up, a wide, familiar smile, the same he saw the first time he walked to the top of the tower as a child. Prompto was smaller then, more of a constellation then a galaxy, just a couple stars with a single orange rimmed eye. They both had grown together, Prompto growing and aging, learning about humans, all while giving Ardyn strength. Magic.

 _“Are you enjoying what I’ve given you?”_ His head tilts a little to the side, like a curious puppy. With a flourish, Ardyn summons his crossbow to his hands, then dismisses it in a puff of red dust. Prompto smiles, Ardyn’s heart skipping a beat. 

“What do you think, darling?”

_“Show me more,”_

“Are you challenging me?”

Prompto’s face looks strange for a second, but then his voice returns to him, _“Yeah. I want to see it.”_

He takes off his hat, the fabric melting into a red rose, then back again, then back again, ignoring how his wrist starts to ache. Casually, he rips the rose to pieces and throws it off the tower, and it falls like shooting stars. It slips out of his sleeve, and he tosses it to the ground, his form effortlessly blinking after it, until his feet were with the hat, on the earth. Throws it again- up in the air- then back on the tower. Like climbing the stairs, it wasn’t as hard as it used to be. He bows, and slips his hat back on his head. 

Prompto stares at him fondly, then starts cackling. Ardyn raises an eyebrow.

Prompto pauses for a moment; _“Hat trick?”_

Ardyn lets out a surprised little guffaw.

“A pun! Really, my feeble little heart can’t take that. You’re learning too much about humans, you’re starting to become one! We must stop this agreement of ours immediately,”

Prompto stops laughing.

“I’m being sarcastic. Speaking of humans-“ Ardyn opens his coat, taking out a small book “-I brought something for you.”

Prompto makes a little “ooo” sound, his face getting closer to Ardyn just by a smidge. For a moment he imagines Prompto and him touching foreheads, getting to see his eyes up close and in all their glory. He flips open the book. 

“It’s a book. A human book of children stories.”

“ _Like_ Argentum The Brave _?”_ Prompto asks. Ardyn flicks through the pages for a moment.

“Yes. That one is in here. I’ll start from the beginning, though.”

Ardyn plops down on the ledge and starts reading the first story, a delightful tale of a princess who would never laugh, and the young boy who befriended a rat and a snake that would make her laugh. Usually Prompto would stop him every once and a while, ask questions, but there was no interruption from his patron this time. The very last words of the story slip off his tongue, and he slowly closes the book.

“So-“

“ _You would do anything for me, right?”_ Prompto blurts.

Ardyn says: “Yes. Of course. You’re the only one that’s been with me always.”

“ _Then I have another part of this deal,”_ Prompto’s voice begins to shrink, fading ever so slightly as his form compresses in the air, _“I will give you all the power you desire, no limits on what you want, and you will be free from this deal. In return, I want you to show me this world.”_  

Ardyn’s eyebrows raise, eyes widening as the glamor in the sky turns into a huge, bright ball. 

“Wasn’t I already showing you this world?” His voice is quivery- he rubs his throat.

“ _You aren’t showing- you’re only giving me glimpses. I want to see everything, learn everything,_ know _everything about you humans.”_  

The ball of light inches closer to him, settling down on the small platform. It falls away in a flash, leaving a form standing in front of him. He staggers a little, like a newborn deer, before standing steady. The figure in front of him stands proud despite his shortness.

“I want you to show me. Up close and personal,” Prompto’s voice spills into the open air like ink into water. Ardyn swallows any question of his as he takes in the man in front of him. What was once dark, starry flesh is pale and speckled with freckles that Ardyn recognizes as the infinite constellations he had spent years looking at every single night since he was a teen. The one on his cheek had a star that pointed north, now just an orange freckle under piercing blue eyes. His hair fell in his face, unlike the familiar cascade of a nebula. His eyes trail down Prompto’s surprisingly muscular arms, his torso, legs. Around then, Ardyn notices he’s nude. 

Quickly, he shucks off his coat and tosses it to Prompto, who fumbles to catch it but slips it on effortlessly. It’s far too big, but it’s better than standing nude. Now, what was he going to say?

Oh yeah.

“Why the hell?” 

Prompto is too distracted by the coat to answer the question the first time. Ardyn repeats himself, and Prompto jolts.

“I already told you why! I want to see the world up close. So, you’re going to guide me. Unless…” Prompto spins around a little in the coat. 

“Unless what?”

“Unless you don’t want any power?” 

Ardyn swallows. Alright, deep breaths. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. All he would have to do is show Prompto some human things, maybe take him to a tavern or a city. There wasn’t a lot he wouldn’t know already, and with how fickle he could be? Easy. The image of their foreheads pressing together, lips barely apart, crashes through his head again. He sends it away as quick as his crossbow.

Slowly, he extends a hand to Prompto. There’s a beat, and Prompto takes it. His hand is small, soft and warm against Ardyn’s palm.

“What do you plan to show me first?” Prompto asks, head tilted to the side just a little, eyes bright and painfully human.

Ardyn looks around him. The sky was black, still, but he could see the faint sliver of golden sunlight over the horizon. In past days, months, years, it would bring him pain to see the sun, knowing it meant that Prompto would have to leave and it would be another day without seeing him again. No matter how beautiful the sunrise could be, it was the worst thing in his eyes. The orange paled in comparison to the orange of Prompto’s eyes, the day sky too dull and flat. Sunrises were simple things.

“Sunrise. I think you’ll like it.”

“When is it?”

“A few hours, I’d say. I hope you can wait.”

Prompto squeezes his hand, turning away and gazing out into the sky he once occupied. 

“I’ve waited all this time, I can wait a little more.”

He sits on the stone ledge, legs dangling off and Ardyn’s coat fanned out around him. Wordlessly, Ardyn sits next to him, wondering what sort of day the sunrise would bring with it. He covers his face with his hat and lets himself drift.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for @higharollakockamamie. They’re on tumblr and they’re cool even though I’m too shy to talk to them. I’m @palpalbuddypal on tumblr. Shoot me a prompt or just come yell! Comments and criticisms appreciated :3!


End file.
